MX Record Lookup: Check Mail Servers Free

An MX record lookup shows which mail servers receive email for a domain. Enter a domain name and this free tool lists every MX record with its priority, mail server hostname, IP address and TTL. It also names the email provider when it recognizes one. Site owners, admins and marketers use it to confirm that email is set up correctly.

What Is an MX Record in DNS?

An MX (Mail Exchange) record is a DNS entry that tells other mail servers where to deliver email for a domain. When someone sends a message to [email protected], their server looks up the MX records for example.com and connects to the hosts listed there.

Each record has two parts: a priority number and a target hostname. The lowest number is tried first, and higher numbers act as backups. If two records share the same number, senders spread mail between them. The target must be a hostname, not an IP address, and that hostname needs its own address record so senders can find it.

MX records live in your domain's DNS zone, which you manage at your registrar or DNS host. Changing them redirects all future mail, so a single typo can interrupt email for your whole domain.

How to Use the MX Record Lookup

You can check any domain in a few seconds. Follow these steps:

1. Type the domain into the Domain Name field, for example example.com. Use the bare domain, without http:// or www.
2. Click Lookup MX Records. The button changes to "Looking up..." while the check runs.
3. Read the heading MX Records for followed by your domain and the number of records found.
4. Review the table columns: Priority, Mail Server (Target), IP Address and TTL.
5. Check the "Detected mail provider" line under the table, if one appears.
6. Compare the rows with the values your email provider told you to publish. If they differ, fix them at your DNS host and run the lookup again.

Worked Example: MX Records for a Google Workspace Domain

Say you just set up email for acme-shop.com (a made-up domain) and want to confirm it works. You enter acme-shop.com and click the button. A classic Google Workspace setup returns a table like this:

The heading reports the record count, and the line below the table reads "Detected mail provider: Google Workspace (Gmail)". Here is what that means. Senders try priority 1 first. If it is unreachable, they move to the two priority 5 servers, then to priority 10. A TTL of 3600s is one hour, so other networks may keep the old answer for up to an hour after you change a record.

Google Workspace also supports a simpler single-record setup, so a shorter list can be correct. Always follow the values shown in your admin console. A Microsoft 365 domain usually shows one record with priority 0 and a hostname ending in mail.protection.outlook.com, and the tool labels it Microsoft 365 / Outlook.

How Do You Read and Act on the Results?

Read the table from top to bottom: the first row is the server that gets mail first, and every other row is a fallback. Each column tells you something different.

Priority

The lowest number wins, and the tool sorts rows that way for you. Common values are 0, 1, 5, 10 and 20. Only the order matters, not the gaps. A red flag is a list that mixes providers, such as Google at priority 1 and an old hosting server at priority 10. The old backup can still receive mail you never see.

Mail Server (Target)

The hostname should match your provider's documentation exactly. A typo, an extra word or a leftover hostname from a previous host sends mail to the wrong place. Fix it at your DNS host.

IP Address

This column shows the first address found for the target hostname. A blank cell does not always mean a fault, but if every row is blank, the hostnames may not resolve and senders cannot deliver. Run the hostname through an A record lookup to confirm.

TTL

TTL is the number of seconds other networks may cache the record. Many providers use 3600 (one hour), and stable setups often use 86400 (one day). If you plan a move to a new email provider, lowering the TTL to something like 300 a day or two ahead makes the switch take effect faster.

Detected mail provider

The label is based on the highest-priority record only. The tool recognizes Google Workspace, Microsoft 365 / Outlook, Yahoo Mail, Zoho Mail, Proton Mail, MXroute, Mailgun and SendGrid. No label is not a problem: custom or hosting-company mail servers simply are not named.

No records or an error message

"No MX records found for this domain" means the domain has no mail routing set. Add the records your provider gave you. "Please enter a valid domain name" means the input has a typo or an unsupported character. A message that the DNS name does not exist means the domain is misspelled or not registered. If the lookup is unavailable, wait a moment and try again.

Can You Check MX Records From the Command Line?

Yes. On Windows, macOS and Linux you can run nslookup -type=mx example.com, or dig mx example.com where dig is installed. Both return the same priorities and hostnames. This page adds a sorted table, an IP address for each target, TTLs and a provider label in one view, so it is handy when you have no terminal or want to share a screenshot. For every record type at once, use a full DNS lookup.

Who Should Use an MX Record Lookup?

Anyone who depends on email for a domain benefits from a quick check. These are the most common situations:

• Site owners switching email providers: confirm the new records are live and the old ones are gone.
• Admins chasing bounces: when senders get "couldn't deliver" errors, MX records are the first thing to verify.
• Marketers and sales teams: a domain with no MX records usually cannot receive email, so you can spot dead addresses before a campaign.
• Agencies onboarding clients: record the current mail setup before touching any DNS.
• Domain buyers: check for leftover email settings from the previous owner.

Best Practices, Common Mistakes and Troubleshooting

Most MX problems come from a handful of repeatable mistakes. Check these first:

• Enter the root domain. Mail for [email protected] uses the MX records of example.com. A hostname like www.example.com usually has none, so the result looks empty.
• Do not paste a full email address. Type only the part after the @ sign.
• Remove old records after a migration. Leftover entries from a previous provider can quietly capture mail.
• Point MX targets at hostnames. An MX target should not be a raw IP address, and it should have its own address record.
• Wait for caching. If your change is not showing, the old TTL may still be in effect. A DNS propagation checker shows how far the change has spread.
• Edit the right DNS zone. If you changed records at your registrar but your nameservers point elsewhere, the edit has no effect. An NS record lookup shows where your DNS is actually hosted.
• Check sending records too. MX controls receiving only. SPF, DKIM and DMARC live in TXT records, which you can review with a TXT record lookup.

Limitations to Keep in Mind

This tool reports what public DNS returns at the moment you run it. It does not test whether a mail server accepts connections, whether a mailbox exists or whether your messages land in spam. The IP column shows one address per hostname, even though large providers use many. Provider detection reads only the top-priority record, so a mixed setup can show one label. If a result looks wrong right after a DNS edit, wait for the TTL to pass and check again.

Run the MX record lookup above to verify your mail servers, priorities and TTLs in seconds. If something looks off, fix it at your DNS host and check again. You can find more related checks in the Network and IP tools collection.